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The U.S. Department of Justice opposed the request, calling it "unreasonable" and suggesting Santos’s claims are speculative. Santos, 36, pled guilty in August 2024 to fraud charges stemming from schemes that bilked donors and constituents of hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors said.
His sentencing, originally scheduled for Feb. 7, 2025, requires him to pay $578,752.94, including $373,749.97 in restitution and $205,002.97 in forfeiture, as per a plea agreement. Santos claims his podcast, "Pants on Fire with George Santos," will generate the revenue needed, but prosecutors argue the show has yet to turn a profit and "is a tone-deaf and unrepentant reference to the crimes he committed."
The DOJ emphasized that Santos’s financial record—including over $800,000 earned from Cameo appearances and a documentary—suggests an unwillingness, rather than an inability, to meet his obligations. Santos reportedly has just $1,000 in liquid assets, despite publicly claiming to earn $80,000 per day at one point, prosecutors said.
Delaying the sentencing would not only undermine justice but "send a message to the public that crime pays," the government argued. Citing victims' rights to a swift resolution, prosecutors urged the court to proceed as scheduled.
Judge Joanna Seybert is expected to rule on the request in the coming weeks.
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